Humanities

The Humanities faculty consists of a highly motivated, well respected team of staff. The department combines staff with lots of teaching experience and new approaches to ensure that pupils achieve their potential through subjects that are both informative and enjoyable.

The faculty emphasis is based on a collaborative approach to facing new challenges and problem solving. Good relationships with students and a commitment to providing a positive learning environment, where both teachers and students can achieve, are important features.

At GCSE we teach the following syllabuses:

Geography- KS4

AQA GCSE GEOGRAPHY syllabus

History

Edexcel History – KS4

These contain a wide variety of topics which pupils seem to enjoy and which help them to develop a range of transferable skills.

Geography

Geography at KS3

Topics covered in Year 7

Fantastic places

Rivers

Biomes

The UK

Topics Covered in Year 8

Weather and climate.

Africa

Coastal landscapes

At KS3, students will be assessed on each of the topics throughout the year with a formal examination on the subject.

Geography at KS4

At GCSE pupils further develop the skills, knowledge and understanding gained at Key Stage 3. We examine 2 main areas which are: -

Unit 1, Living with the physical environment – This unit examines the impact of natural hazards, the different types of ecosystem and how different landforms have been created. It also looks at how humans interact with the physical environment.

Unit 2, Challenges in the human environment – This unit examines a range of human geography related to how and where we live and how our actions are impacting the available resources to us and how economies around the world are developing.

Unit 3 Geographical Applications – This unit uses the skills from fieldwork activities and source evaluation techniques to carry out decision making exercises on a range of geographical events.

Students will be assessed throughout the course through GCSE style examination papers on each of the topics covered

History

History is the study of people and the past. It involves exploring past communities, cultures and identities. The study of History is vital in explaining and understanding current world events. Through the study of History, pupils will develop the skills of: